When I decided to go to the University of Oregon for graduate school in 2005 I was like, “Those hippies are going to be bummed when I remind them of the UC basketball team beating down the No. 5 Ducks in 2002.” (There were also feelings of, “Goddang UC givin’ me an English degree that ain’t worth nuthin’…”)

But before I could even get out there and wear my Jason Maxiell jersey on Oregon’s lovely campus (those dudes have about 1,284 bike racks, for reals), Bob Huggins had been let go and my confidence in UC’s 2007 National Championship plans (the pending recruiting class was going to be ridiculous) were shattered. Even worse, this scary guy named Ivan Johnson backed out of his commitment to UC, and guess what school he went to? Freakin Oregon.

This year’s free agent market has been extremely slow in developing, and there are still big-name guys waiting to find out where they fit in. The opportunity is ripe for a team like the Reds, with a little cash to spend, to find a rare deal. But the Reds are a weird team right now, and it’s been difficult to figure out what would be a good move, even if it comes for less than market value.

UC in Big East semis, Dayton awaits Xavier

It’s a big night on the hardwood for the Queen City this evening. UC faces No. 2 Syracuse in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament — a place the Bearcats have never reached since joining the conference in 2005. Xavier has had far more success in their endeavors in the A-10 tournament, although last year Xavier bowed out in the quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed. The opponent that night was the Dayton Flyers, the same team the Muskies face tonight with hopes of cementing an NCAA bid.

Let’s start with Xavier, who is in a far more intriguing position heading into tonight’s game. Joe Lunardi, Jerry Palm and Shaw Siegel — all well-known braketologists — have XU in as either an 11 or 12 seed. Fair enough, although as the 3 seed in the A-10 Tournament I believe the Muskies should have to win at least one game to earn a bid to the big dance. I’m going out on a limb here — win and in, lose and lock up a home game in the NIT.

Xavier split the regular season series with the Flyers with each team winning at home. The Flyers pounded Xavier by 15 points in Dayton and forced the game into overtime at Cintas. If the Flyers can get past Xavier tonight in Atlantic City then my I would place my money (the pun was intended) on Dayton to be the A-10’s third team along with Temple and Saint Louis to be accepted into the NCAA Tournament. Currently the Flyers have one more win than the Muskies, 20-11 compared with 19-11, and will have two wins over Xavier. Let’s be honest here, Xavier doesn’t have the same look it has had in previous years or even three months ago before a couple suspensions and a Kenny Frease black eye.

But if the Musketeers can hold on for a “W” the 11 to 12 seed range looks far more promising than you may believe. Xavier is talented on any given night to beat most of the 5 and 6 seeds. Here’s a mouthwatering thought: Lunardi has Xavier against Louisville in his latest projection. That would be one hell of a game.

Despite the wonders Mick Cronin has worked with the Bearcats, they sit in a far less intriguing but far more troubling position. All projections indicate that UC will fall in as an 8 or 9 seed. The way the 'Cats are playing, the first round is certainly doable but barring any major upset a second round meeting with a 1 seed awaits. Both Lunardi and Palm have UC in the Midwest region with Kansas — I guess that’s the least of the other three evils, North Carolina, Kentucky and Syracuse.

The Bearcats will be more than familiar with Syracuse after tonight’s game and a regular season meeting, but I think the Bearcats match up better with the Jayhawks. If things go according to (my) plan and UC gets Kansas, Yancy Gates is going to have to go into beast mode against player-of-the-year candidate Thomas Robinson. I digress; a win against Syracuse tonight in the mecca of hoops, MSG, might push UC into the realm of a 7 seed. Oh how magical that would be.

Hopefully an abundance of 3-pointers will take the place of a woeful 2-21 performance yesterday. The Bearcats played the Orange tough at home back in January, losing 53-60.

If Gates can put up a performance similar to yesterdays and the defense can limit the opportunities of Dion Waiters and Kris Joseph the ‘Cats have a fighting chance. It would also be nice if those cool new uniforms — 28 percent lighter than the old ones, I hear — could supply and additional 10 points or so just for good measure.

As a UC fan I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a 7 seed. I really would like to see Xavier in and prove that their recent struggles aren’t a true reflection of their potential. Check back Monday for a Selection Sunday analysis.

Former UC basketball player Eric Hicks to suit up for Cincinnati Commandos

Anyone who misses the
days of Eric “The Helicopter” Hicks jamming on people’s heads
for the University of Cincinnati basketball team will have a chance
to see Hicks suit up for another local team later this month, but
this time he’ll be playing football.

Hicks signed a one-day
contract to play in the Cincinnati Commandos game against the Marion Blue Racers on April
28. He’ll be in town practicing with the United Indoor Football League team during
the next couple of weeks. He calls it his “OchoCinco moment.”

Although he never
played in the NBA, Hicks has been a professional basketball player
since leaving UC after his senior season in 2006. Hicks has been a
very good player in several European leagues, having played on
championship and All-Star teams in such countries as Belgium, Poland,
Russia, Israel, China and Spain.

Several notable NFL
players had college basketball experience, including tight ends
Antonio Gates, Jimmie Graham and Rob Gronkowski. Hicks, who is
6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, hasn’t played football since his sophomore
year of high school in North Carolina. Although he doesn’t expect
to end up in the NFL any time soon, Commandos coach Billy Back says
his size and athleticism could be real advantages in this league.

“He’s an all-time
fan favorite Bearcat and one of my favorites as well,” Back said. “He’s
an athlete, and we can use his height to our advantage.”

Hicks plans to return
to Europe soon to resume his basketball career, but said in a release
that he’s excited about playing for the Commandos.

In addition to the April 28 game in which Hicks will play, the Commandos have home games at the Cincinnati Gardens May 12, May 26 and June 2. Tickets are $10-$22 and available through Ticket Masteror the Cincinnati Gardens ticket office, 513-631-7793 or
2250 Seymour Ave.Find the team's website here.

The year 2000 seems like only yesterday
— everyone all hunched up in our bomb shelters assuming the bank
was going to turn our life savings into some kind of repeating
decimal instead of the hundreds of dollars we had in there, all
because a computer doesn't know how to count above 1999.

Once we made it to the Millennium, many
Cincinnatians' concerns shifted from ultimate survival to how awesome
it was going to be when Kenyon Martin and the UC Bearcats won the
National Title. We're not here to recap how much it sucked to witness
Kenyon's broken ankle in the stupid Conference USA tournament or to
apologize to the girlfriend at the time who walked in the room
during the injury and expected some semblance of reason to be
demonstrated despite the fatal blow to the 'Cats' chances. (She says
she forgave me, but her recent marriage to a hockey player in
California speaks otherwise...)

Before the conference tournament there
was the Bearcats' second-to-last regular season game, a contest
against future pro Quintin Richardson and the DePaul Blue Demons on March 2, 2000. UC
had four of its own players who would be drafted following the
1999-00 season: Martin (1st overall pick in 2000), DerMarr Johnson
(6th pick in 2000), Kenny Satterfield (53rd in 2001) and Steve
Logan (30th in 2002).

Witness, via the beauty of the
Internet, the final 3:46 of gametime, the No. 2 Bearcats trailing
60-50 and Dick Vitale in the house to go off about how awesome Kenyon was.

Hometown favorites at stake when Bearcats and Buckeyes meet in the Sweet 16

University
of Cincinnati basketball players might not know that much about the
history between their program and that of Ohio State University, but
Cincinnati's mayor just added another level to the stakes for
tonight’s game. Mayor Mark Mallory and Columbus Mayor Michael B.
Coleman have made a friendly bet on the outcome, putting each city’s
hometown ice cream on the line.

If
Ohio State wins the game — which will take place 9:45 p.m. tonight
in Boston — Mallory will send a shipment of Graeter’s to
Columbus. Should UC beat OSU and advance to the Elite 8, Coleman will
send some of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams to Cincinnati.

Mallory
has offered supreme confidence that the 6-seeded Bearcats will take
down the 2-seed Buckeyes.

“The
Cincinnati Bearcats are a great source of pride for the entire city.
I’m confident that UC will prevail and march on to the Elite 8,”
Mallory said in a news release. “I just hope Mayor Coleman sends
enough Jeni’s Ice cream for the entire team.”

When
offered the initial wager, Coleman reportedly slammed down his OSU
travel coffee mug, then paused to reflect on the heartbreak Buckeye
fans felt back in 1961 when UC upset the favored Buckeyes to win the
NCAA championship and then defeated OSU in the title game again in
1962. (Just kidding, Coleman was also gracious and nice, releasing
his own statement.)

“I
want to thank Mayor Mallory for his generous offer of Graeter’s ice
cream on behalf of the Bearcats,” Coleman said. “While I do not
expect it to be as sweet as the Buckeyes’ victory Thursday night,
I’m sure it will be delicious. In fact, I’ll be happy to share
some with Mayor Mallory if he’d like to join me next week rooting
on the Buckeyes in the Final Four.

Bearcats a lock, Muskies not so much

The regular season is drawing to a close as Cincinnati and
Xavier each have one game left before conference tournament time. Cincinnati
will hear their name called on "Selection Sunday" — as for Xavier, only time will
tell.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Xavier as one of his
first four out, and I tend to agree — although I disagree with the pointless
bickering in the comments section regarding the brawl that happened — wait for
it — almost three months ago. The Bearcats are listed as a 10 seed, a much better
prospect than having an 8 or 9 seed and having to play Kentucky or Syracuse if
they can make it past the first round. With the current mock up, the ‘Cats
would play San Diego State in the first round — a winnable game — and North
Carolina in the second — maybe, with a hope and a prayer.

Not to say that crazier things haven’t happened: VMI, Butler
(twice) and George Mason have all knocked off No. 1 seeds in the tournament. UC has more talent than any of those teams, and if they
can continue playing like they did against Marquette this past Wednesday the
Sweet 16 or even Elite 8 isn’t out of the question.

The Bearcats played stifling defense against Marquette, forcing
17 turnovers. They dominated the paint, outscoring the Golden Eagles 42-24, and
JaQuon Parker was a revelation. Parker used his size and strength to drive to
the hoop at will and went 2-for-4 from behind the arc, including a halftime
buzzer-beater that put UC up 16 at the half. Parker finished the game with a
career-best 28 points.

The Bearcats didn’t look back. Yancy Gates finished the game
with 13 boards despite being limited to less than four minutes of first half
play because of foul trouble. The 72-61 final wasn’t as close as the score
indicated, as UC coasted to victory. With the emergence of Parker the 'Cats now
have a steady combo of inside and outside threats that will make them a
difficult team to face both in New York and in the NCAA tournament.

Xavier, on the other hand, isn’t a lock for a ticket to March
Madness. Winning the A10 tourney would put all doubt to rest. The Muskies host
Charlotte tomorrow; with a loss the NIT will certainly be beckoning. A win
leaves a glimmer of hope, but in all likelihood, Chris Mack and his team will be
on the outside looking in next Sunday.

’Cats could end up with a surprisingly high seed

The Bearcats’ sweet
double-overtime victory yesterday over Georgetown was the team’s sixth win in its
last seven games, three of which were against teams ranked in the Top
25 at the time. The ’Cats are now 6-3 against the RPI top 50, with
tonight’s 7 p.m. Big East semifinal against No. 2 Syracuse offering
an opportunity to seriously enhance the team’s seeding come Sunday.

ESPN Bracketologist Joe
Lunardi currently has the Bearcats projected as an 8 seed, playing
Virginia in the first round with a potential second-round game
against No. 1 seed Kansas. This situation would seriously
suck. (For Cincinnati or for Kansas? ... Good point.)

Cincinnati is by far
the most dangerous team in the 7-10 range, having recently defeated
projected 3-seeds Marquette and Georgetown, along with projected
5-seed Louisville. It’s safe to say that no No. 1 or 2 seed wants
to see the Bearcats in the second round. And for UC, the road to the
Sweet Sixteen actually would look a lot easier from one of the 11 or 12 seeds —
fellow Big East squad South Florida is projected as a 12 to face
5-seed UNLV in the first round and potentially 4-seed Florida State
in the second. I think UC would gladly take on a tougher first-round
matchup for a second round game that’s not against a school that
starts four or five future NBA players.

It actually wouldn’t
be a huge surprise if UC is one of the several teams that every year
gets slotted somewhere far from what the prognosticators expected.
The Bearcats’ RPI of 58 might fit in with those of some of the
current bubble teams, but only two other teams outside the RPI top 17
have as many wins over the RPI top 50 as UC’s six (Kansas State,
RPI 44, and Notre Dame, RPI 37, each also have six).

The Bearcats received
votes in the AP Top 25 last week. UC’s five votes had the team
around the No. 35 ranking, which falls in line with the 8- to 9-seed
projection. But that was before yesterday’s win over Georgetown,
which would likely have earned the ’Cats more votes even if the
team loses to Syracuse. Louisville, on the other hand, fell from the
Top 25 in last week’s ranking, actually sitting two spots out at
No. 27, but the Cardinals are currently projected as a 5 seed, which
would typically include teams in the 17-20 range.

The selection committee
doesn’t strictly follow any single set of rankings when determining
seeding, but the guess here is that even with a loss to Syracuse in
the Big East semifinals it wouldn’t be a stretch for the committee
to consider UC one of the top 28 teams in the country, which would put UC among the 7
seeds. And it’s safe to say that a win over Syracuse would put the
Bearcats firmly in the Top 25 by week’s end, meaning a 6 seed would
be possible. And if UC were to win the whole Big East tournament, it
would be difficult for any selection committee to seed the team very
far from the likes of projected 3-seeds Georgetown and Marquette, two teams the
Bearcats have beaten in the last 16 days.

Here’s hoping the
Bearcats put on a good showing tonight in primetime against the No. 2
team in the country in the Big East semis. Selection committee
members will be watching, as will the potential No. 1 and No. 2 seeds
which certainly don’t want to see Cincinnati between themselves and
the second round.

Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio State, Ohio U. all in the Sweet Sixteen

Late Sunday night, as the Cincinnati-Florida State game prepared to determine the
final member of this year’s Sweet Sixteen, the national analysis
dudes all started talking about how the state of Ohio had gone 7-0 up
to that point — Ohio University had just defeated South Florida to
get into the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the 1960s. Ohio
State and Xavier were both already in.

Cincinnati went on to
win a physical, back-and-forth game against FSU, which finished third
in the Atlantic Coast Conference and won the ACC tournament. It was
the first time in the history of UC’s program that the team beat a
higher-seeded opponent in the NCAA Tournament. The No. 6 seed Bearcats will play No. 2 seed
Ohio State at 9:45 p.m. Thursday in Boston, which means the
state of Ohio will suffer its first loss of the 2012 NCAA Tournament
then.

After a second-round
comeback win over Notre Dame, Xavier found itself in the fortunate
position of facing a team called “Lehigh” rather than one called
“Duke.” Lehigh was one of two 15 seeds to defeat a No. 2 seed in
this year’s second-round of play, and the “Mountain Hawks” made
actually game of against Xavier, which didn’t have the game in hand
until less than five minutes remained. Xavier will now play No. 3
seed Baylor at 7:15 p.m. Friday in Atlanta.

Ohio University upset
4-seeded Michigan in the second round and then ousted No. 13 seed
South Florida in the third. The Bobcats will play No. 1 seed North
Carolina at 7:47 p.m. Friday in St. Louis.

Ohio State beat Loyola
(Md.) and Gonzaga to earn its spot in the Sweet Sixteen. OSU and
Cincinnati last faced each other in the NCAA Tournament in the 1962
National Championship game, which UC won 71–59. (UC also defeated
OSU in the 1961 title game, 70-65.) The Ohio State-Cincinnati winner
will face the winner of Syracuse-Wisconsin, setting up a potential
rematch of the Big East Tournament semifinal game when Cincinnati
upset Syracuse.

MORE SWEET NEARBY TEAMS:

The Ohio Valley’s
hoops success easily spreads beyond just the Ohio teams — three
more schools within 100 miles are in the Sweet Sixteen: Kentucky,
Louisville and Indiana. Kentucky and Indiana are actually matched up
in the South Region (9:45 p.m. Friday in Atlanta), while Louisville
faces Michigan State in the West (7:47 p.m. Thursday in Phoenix).

BIG EAST REPRESENT:

The Big East again
this year sent more teams to the NCAA Tournament than any other
conference, and four of its nine are still standing: Syracuse,
Marquette, Cincinnati and Louisville. Each of these schools is in a
separate region, so it’s still technically possible for an all-Big
East Final Four.

Andy Kennedy, were you hanging out at the Lodge Bar until 1 a.m. last night? Was your pervy looking “Director of Operations at Mississippi,” 31-year-old William Armstrong, trying to hunch on some rich girls into the wee hours of the night only to get his crackerish ass thrown out of the bar? Did y’all act like dicks to a cab driver?